Blue Jays release 12 minor leaguers and Walker Lockett signs in Korea

The Walker Lockett era in Toronto is over before it began.

The Blue Jays claimed the righty off of waivers from the Seattle Mariners earlier this month ahead of the Rule 5 Draft but it looks like he’ll never pitch for the club. Lockett has reportedly inked a deal with the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization.

Lockett has had a wild few months. He was claimed by the Mariners from the Mets in September and then he was claimed by the Blue Jays in December and now he’s off to Korea.

At best, Lockett was going to be organizational pitching depth for the Jays, so this isn’t much of a loss, and it’ll open up a spot on the 40-man roster that the team will need when (if???) they sign a free agent.

Elsewhere, according to a minor-league transactions post from Baseball America, the Blue Jays have released a handful of players. The players are pitchers Felipe Castaneda, Juanfer Castro, Yohan Concepcion, Leo Correa, Austin Havekost, Alex Nolan, Blake Sanderson, and Andrew Sopko, catchers Omar Gutierrez, Jesus Hernandez, and Geyber Jimenez, and outfielder Amin Araujo.

These are players who you’re probably only going to know if you pay really, really close attention to the depths of the team’s farm system.

Sopko is probably the name you’ve seen, as he pitched as high as Triple-A Buffalo and he was the guy the team got back from the Dodgers for Russell Martin. You might also recognize Nolan’s name if you follow Canadian baseball, as he was an undrafted free agent out of Brock University.